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Bargo's version of events: he wasn't there when Jackson was slain

Published: Monday, August 19, 2013 at 9:36 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, August 19, 2013 at 2:04 p.m.

In a stunning change of course, Michael Bargo testified during his own murder trial Monday, providing more than two hours of testimony recalling the events before and after the 2011 death of 15-year-old Seath Jackson.

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April Warren posts live updates via Twitter from the Michael Bargo trial. Follow her at @ajtwarren. She is also using the hashtag #bargotrial.

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The day's agenda was expected to consist of 90-minute closing arguments because the defense had rested Friday afternoon without calling a single witness.

Instead, defense attorney Charles Holloman asked Circuit Judge David Eddy for leave to re-open the defense case Monday morning after his client decided that he would, in fact, take the stand.

And so he did, in an excited, animated fashion.

"I didn't want no part from the beginning," Bargo said about the events that led to Seath's death.

Bargo suggested that others in Charlie Ely's home in Summerfield were responsible for Seath's death and that he arrived only after the murder had been carried out. He also said the killing had not been planned in advance.

He told the jury that co-defendant Kyle Hooper fired the shots that killed Seath. During the afternoon session Hooper testifed and re-directed the blame back at Bargo.

The state, which believes Bargo was the shooter and ringleader, is seeking the death penalty in his case.

"I came down to Florida to get a new start," Bargo began his testimony. He recalled working for Michael Proctor for two days and receiving a .22-caliber gun as payment for a job. He told the court the house had a rat problem and that's why he used the gun, at one point killing six or seven rats in a week.

"I taught everybody how to use that gun. I showed everybody how to use it," Bargo said, although he said he added one caution. "Just don't point it at anybody, don't point it at yourself."

On the witness stand Bargo appeared confident, positioning his green high-backed chair toward the jury and rocking back and forth on the witness stand while using his hands and facial expressions to connect with his 12-member audience.

By his telling, he was the peacemaker among his co-defendants. All of them — Ely, Amber Wright, Hooper and Justin Soto — are serving life prison sentences.

In a bold voice with a slight accent, Bargo told the jury his gun had gone missing in the hours before Seath was killed. By the time he returned on April 17, Wright was sobbing, Ely was cleaning the crime scene with bleach, and Hooper was outside in the backyard near a huge fire.

"It's so hot I can't get within 15 feet of this damn thing," the defendant recalled.

According to Bargo, Hooper then took him inside and told him what happened.

Bargo said Hooper and Soto had found Seath in the living room that night and an angry Hooper told him to leave. Seath refused to leave until he had talked to Wright, his ex-girlfriend.

Hooper grabbed Seath, hit him, a fight ensued, and Seath ended up on top of Hooper punching him, Bargo testified.

Soto then hit Seath on the head with a stick. Hooper started shooting at Seath, who bolted into the front yard. Hooper and Soto ran after him, tackled him, and Hooper shot him again.

The two men brought Seath back inside and placed him on the kitchen floor and then into the bathtub, Bargo testified. Hooper told Bargo he heard a noise from Seath.

Hooper told Bargo "it had come too far and it was too late" and he shot Seath a few more times in the head.

Bargo said Hooper recalled the killing as a spur-of-the-moment decision. "When I came home, while he's talking to me, the body was already in the fire, that's what he ended up telling me also," Bargo said.

According to Bargo, Hooper then made it clear to him: He was either with the group or against it. Bargo testified the hefty Hooper had punched him earlier in the day and had possibly broken his nose. Bargo recalled gushing blood from his face and realigning his own nose.

"I was actually scared for my life," Bargo said. "Here I am, all beat up, drunk, high, all kinds of messed up. I couldn't fight off a flea … I'm liable to be the next one in the fire pit."

On cross-examination Assistant State Attorney Amy Berndt pointed out Bargo could have called his father at that time, but instead he went to sleep.

"There's not much I could have done at that point," Bargo said.

"There's not much you could have done?" Berndt asked. "Because you haven't called the police."

"And then what, get blamed for it?" Bargo responded.

Berndt also pointed out Bargo could have left the house and failed to do so. "In fact there's lot of people you could have called and there's lots of things you could have done, but you went to sleep," she said.

Later Monday afternoon the state called Hooper, 19, to testify in rebuttal.

He took the stand looking at Bargo and telling the jury the pair used to be friends. Dressed in a prison uniform, with his voice shaking at times, Hooper told the court the murder was premeditated.

"Mike and I, we had a conversation about killing Seath," he said.

Hooper recalled Bargo's feelings for Wright and said Bargo was jealous, although during his own testimony, Bargo had denied any romantic involvement with Wright.

"We were talking about killing him. He wanted to make a plan to do it ... he came to me because I had issues with him too, with Seath also," Hooper said.

According to Hooper, Bargo told Wright to bring Seath to the house. The plan was for Soto to hit Seath, then Bargo and Hooper would follow up and jump on him and Bargo would shoot him.

But during the actual events, Soto did not hit him, so Hooper — with Bargo's encouragement — took a piece of wood from the door frame and hit Seath in the head with the wood. Then Bargo entered the room with the gun.

Hooper said he told Seath to run. The victim ran into the kitchen and Bargo shot at him. Then Seath ran out the front door, down the steps and Soto ran after him and tackled him, Hooper said.

Then Bargo shot him one more time and yelled for Hooper to come help. The men brought Seath into the bathtub.

"Mike had told me to go help my sister and Charlie clean up the kitchen," Hooper recalled. Then Bargo shot Seath a few more times in the bathtub.

"He (Bargo) was yelling at him (Seath) and he was cussing at him," Hooper recalled. "I told him (Bargo) to stop."

Hooper also said the initial plan from Bargo was to keep Seath alive when he was placed into the bathtub. Hooper guessed this was so Seath would see the person who shot him.

While Bargo recalled a much different series of events and tried to distance himself from the murder, he failed to show any compassion or sympathy for what happened to Seath.

Bargo said his only involvement was helping dispose of Seath's remains. "All I'm supposed to do is show these people where this limerock pit is, that's all I'm supposed to do," Bargo recalled during his testimony.

He said he directed his co-defendants to the limerock pit and carried a cinder block toward the quarry where Seath's charred remains, put in paint cans, would be thrown.

However, Bargo said he hung back as others continued into the quarry because of a leg injury. This contradicted testimony last week from James Havens, charged as an accessory after that fact, who said he was the only one who stayed near the car while the boys walked into the quarry.

Afterwards, the group stopped at Publix. "I needed a drink bad after that," Bargo said, calling it a stressful situation.

In Bargo's account he decided to leave for Starke after the limerock pit because Hooper was concerned Bargo would turn him in.

Berndt saw it another way on cross-examination. "That's what you do, when you break the law, you run and hide," she said, referring to this incident and a previous one.

<p>In a stunning change of course, Michael Bargo testified during his own murder trial Monday, providing more than two hours of testimony recalling the events before and after the 2011 death of 15-year-old Seath Jackson.</p><p>The day's agenda was expected to consist of 90-minute closing arguments because the defense had rested Friday afternoon without calling a single witness.</p><p>Instead, defense attorney Charles Holloman asked Circuit Judge David Eddy for leave to re-open the defense case Monday morning after his client decided that he would, in fact, take the stand.</p><p>And so he did, in an excited, animated fashion.</p><p>"I didn't want no part from the beginning," Bargo said about the events that led to Seath's death.</p><p>Bargo suggested that others in Charlie Ely's home in Summerfield were responsible for Seath's death and that he arrived only after the murder had been carried out. He also said the killing had not been planned in advance.</p><p>He told the jury that co-defendant Kyle Hooper fired the shots that killed Seath. During the afternoon session Hooper testifed and re-directed the blame back at Bargo.</p><p>The state, which believes Bargo was the shooter and ringleader, is seeking the death penalty in his case.</p><p>"I came down to Florida to get a new start," Bargo began his testimony. He recalled working for Michael Proctor for two days and receiving a .22-caliber gun as payment for a job. He told the court the house had a rat problem and that's why he used the gun, at one point killing six or seven rats in a week.</p><p>"I taught everybody how to use that gun. I showed everybody how to use it," Bargo said, although he said he added one caution. "Just don't point it at anybody, don't point it at yourself."</p><p>On the witness stand Bargo appeared confident, positioning his green high-backed chair toward the jury and rocking back and forth on the witness stand while using his hands and facial expressions to connect with his 12-member audience.</p><p>By his telling, he was the peacemaker among his co-defendants. All of them — Ely, Amber Wright, Hooper and Justin Soto — are serving life prison sentences.</p><p>In a bold voice with a slight accent, Bargo told the jury his gun had gone missing in the hours before Seath was killed. By the time he returned on April 17, Wright was sobbing, Ely was cleaning the crime scene with bleach, and Hooper was outside in the backyard near a huge fire.</p><p>"It's so hot I can't get within 15 feet of this damn thing," the defendant recalled.</p><p>According to Bargo, Hooper then took him inside and told him what happened.</p><p>Bargo said Hooper and Soto had found Seath in the living room that night and an angry Hooper told him to leave. Seath refused to leave until he had talked to Wright, his ex-girlfriend.</p><p>Hooper grabbed Seath, hit him, a fight ensued, and Seath ended up on top of Hooper punching him, Bargo testified.</p><p>Soto then hit Seath on the head with a stick. Hooper started shooting at Seath, who bolted into the front yard. Hooper and Soto ran after him, tackled him, and Hooper shot him again.</p><p>The two men brought Seath back inside and placed him on the kitchen floor and then into the bathtub, Bargo testified. Hooper told Bargo he heard a noise from Seath.</p><p>Hooper told Bargo "it had come too far and it was too late" and he shot Seath a few more times in the head.</p><p>Bargo said Hooper recalled the killing as a spur-of-the-moment decision. "When I came home, while he's talking to me, the body was already in the fire, that's what he ended up telling me also," Bargo said.</p><p>According to Bargo, Hooper then made it clear to him: He was either with the group or against it. Bargo testified the hefty Hooper had punched him earlier in the day and had possibly broken his nose. Bargo recalled gushing blood from his face and realigning his own nose.</p><p>"I was actually scared for my life," Bargo said. "Here I am, all beat up, drunk, high, all kinds of messed up. I couldn't fight off a flea … I'm liable to be the next one in the fire pit."</p><p>On cross-examination Assistant State Attorney Amy Berndt pointed out Bargo could have called his father at that time, but instead he went to sleep.</p><p>"There's not much I could have done at that point," Bargo said.</p><p>"There's not much you could have done?" Berndt asked. "Because you haven't called the police."</p><p>"And then what, get blamed for it?" Bargo responded.</p><p>Berndt also pointed out Bargo could have left the house and failed to do so. "In fact there's lot of people you could have called and there's lots of things you could have done, but you went to sleep," she said.</p><p>Later Monday afternoon the state called Hooper, 19, to testify in rebuttal.</p><p>He took the stand looking at Bargo and telling the jury the pair used to be friends. Dressed in a prison uniform, with his voice shaking at times, Hooper told the court the murder was premeditated.</p><p>"Mike and I, we had a conversation about killing Seath," he said.</p><p>Hooper recalled Bargo's feelings for Wright and said Bargo was jealous, although during his own testimony, Bargo had denied any romantic involvement with Wright.</p><p>"We were talking about killing him. He wanted to make a plan to do it ... he came to me because I had issues with him too, with Seath also," Hooper said.</p><p>According to Hooper, Bargo told Wright to bring Seath to the house. The plan was for Soto to hit Seath, then Bargo and Hooper would follow up and jump on him and Bargo would shoot him.</p><p>But during the actual events, Soto did not hit him, so Hooper — with Bargo's encouragement — took a piece of wood from the door frame and hit Seath in the head with the wood. Then Bargo entered the room with the gun.</p><p>Hooper said he told Seath to run. The victim ran into the kitchen and Bargo shot at him. Then Seath ran out the front door, down the steps and Soto ran after him and tackled him, Hooper said.</p><p>Then Bargo shot him one more time and yelled for Hooper to come help. The men brought Seath into the bathtub.</p><p>"Mike had told me to go help my sister and Charlie clean up the kitchen," Hooper recalled. Then Bargo shot Seath a few more times in the bathtub.</p><p>"He (Bargo) was yelling at him (Seath) and he was cussing at him," Hooper recalled. "I told him (Bargo) to stop."</p><p>Hooper also said the initial plan from Bargo was to keep Seath alive when he was placed into the bathtub. Hooper guessed this was so Seath would see the person who shot him.</p><p>While Bargo recalled a much different series of events and tried to distance himself from the murder, he failed to show any compassion or sympathy for what happened to Seath.</p><p>Bargo said his only involvement was helping dispose of Seath's remains. "All I'm supposed to do is show these people where this limerock pit is, that's all I'm supposed to do," Bargo recalled during his testimony.</p><p>He said he directed his co-defendants to the limerock pit and carried a cinder block toward the quarry where Seath's charred remains, put in paint cans, would be thrown.</p><p>However, Bargo said he hung back as others continued into the quarry because of a leg injury. This contradicted testimony last week from James Havens, charged as an accessory after that fact, who said he was the only one who stayed near the car while the boys walked into the quarry.</p><p>Afterwards, the group stopped at Publix. "I needed a drink bad after that," Bargo said, calling it a stressful situation.</p><p>In Bargo's account he decided to leave for Starke after the limerock pit because Hooper was concerned Bargo would turn him in.</p><p>Berndt saw it another way on cross-examination. "That's what you do, when you break the law, you run and hide," she said, referring to this incident and a previous one.</p>